Ever since Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446) and polymath Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) popularized the drawing technique of linear perspective, Western artists have conceived of paintings as illusory windows onto imagined worlds. The accurate depiction of landscapes was a powerful tool for making these imagined worlds seem real. In the paintings exhibited here, landscapes serve a variety of functions. In some works, the landscape itself is the subject. Small-scale human figures are accessories to dramatic scenes of billowing clouds and crashing waves. In other paintings, the landscape establishes a sense of place for human-centered religious narratives. In others still, the landscape includes distant details that provide more information about the sitter of a portrait. Other aspects of the paintings displayed in this gallery, such as stone walls, window frames, and open curtains, lead the viewer’s eye deeper into the artist’s imagined world.
